"My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is a song written by
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
, for the 1938 musical ''
Leave It to Me!
''Leave It to Me!'' is a 1938 musical produced by Vinton Freedley with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The book was a collaborative effort by Samuel and Bella Spewack, who also directed the Broadway production. The musical was based on the play ...
'' which premiered on November 9, 1938. It was originally performed by
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...
, who played Dolly Winslow, the young "
protégée
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
" of a rich newspaper publisher.
In the original context, Dolly is stranded at a Siberian railway station, wearing only a fur coat, and performs a striptease while singing the song. Surrounded by eager Siberian men, she says that since she has met "daddy", she will flirt with other men, but won't "follow through". "Daddy" is her
sugar daddy, a newspaper magnate introduced with the words, "I've come to care, for such a sweet millionaire".
Later versions
Martin sang it again in the 1940 movie ''
Love Thy Neighbor''. Again she wears a fur coat, but the setting is a
show within a show and the act is more conventional as she wears an evening gown beneath the fur. The words to the introduction are altered, the innuendoes being toned down. Her best-known movie performance is in the 1946 Cole Porter biopic ''
Night and Day'' in which she plays herself. The film recreates Martin's audition then segues into her performance in the original Siberian context. She again performs the striptease, discarding her
muff and then the fur coat, while mustachioed Siberian men follow her every move, eventually fainting when she removes her coat to reveal a skimpy figure-hugging costume beneath.
In Britain, the song was a hit for
Pat Kirkwood who performed it in the 1938 revue
Black Velvet. This led to her being dubbed "Britain's first wartime star".
The song was thereafter associated with her.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
sings the song in the film ''
Let's Make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
'' (1960). The introduction is completely changed. She introduces herself as "Lolita", who is not allowed to "play with boys". A verse is added in which she invites a boy "to cook up a fine enchilada". The lines do not conform to the rhyme scheme of the rest of the song, but have been used by many other performers since.
Anna Nicole Smith recorded a copy of the Monroe version in 1997, it was released in CD-single and 12 maxi with two versions.
Lyrical and musical features
Rhyming with "daddy" is difficult but Porter characteristically managed it well.
One clever rhyme is
Finnan haddie
Finnan haddie (also known as Finnan haddock, Finnan, Finny haddock or Findrum speldings) is cold-smoked haddock, representative of a regional method of smoking with green wood and peat in north-east Scotland.
Origin
The origin of finnan haddi ...
is smoked fish, and this is one of many innuendoes which appear throughout the song.
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...
famously advised
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...
to deliver such sexy lines while looking towards heaven. Mary Martin's stage persona was quite innocent and so the contrast between her naive manner and the suggestive lyrics accompanied by her delivery (in one recording she inserts a significant pause in the middle of the word 'asking' in the above-quoted lyric) and the provocative striptease made her performance a huge success.
Brooks Atkinson
Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...
, the critic of the ''New York Times'', wrote that Martin's "mock innocence makes ''My Heart Belongs to Daddy'' the bawdy ballad of the season".
The original version contains four verses, all of which play on idiosyncratic rhymes with "daddy". The first refers to a game of golf during which she might "make a play for the caddy". The second is about the finnan haddie. The third tells of wearing green with a "Paddy" on St Patrick's day. The final verse is about a varsity football match where one might meet a "strong under-graddy". In the original version, she ends up saying that her daddy might "spank" her if she was "bad".
Referring to the melody, especially the passage of "da da da da"s,
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for reco ...
described it as "one of the most
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
tunes ever written" despite the fact that "Cole Porter's background was not Jewish." Lyrics critic
Philip Furia
Philip George Furia (November 15, 1943 – April 3, 2019) was an American author and English literature professor. His books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era.
Biography
Furia was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Ethel Rose Sz ...
replied that the essence of that bit of melody is to suggest that "Daddy" is Jewish.
[Philip Furia, ''The Poets of Tin Pan Alley'', Oxford University Press, 1990.]
Notable recordings
*The 1938 version by bandleader
Larry Clinton
Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985) was an American musician, best known as a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader and arranger.
Biography
Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He became a ver ...
with singer
Bea Wain
Beatrice Ruth Wain (April 30, 1917 – August 19, 2017) was an American Big Band-era singer and radio personality born in the Bronx, New York City. She had several hits with Larry Clinton and His Orchestra, including "My Reverie", "Deep Purple" ...
was the most successful of the many contemporary recordings, entering the U.S. charts at the same time as Mary Martin's original cast recording but peaking at No. 4, compared to Martin's No. 7.
*
The Count Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 1950 ...
(1939) with
Helen Humes
Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 – September 9, 1981) was an American singer. Humes was a teenage blues singer, a vocalist with Count Basie's band, a saucy R&B diva, and a mature interpreter of the classic popular song.
Early life
She was born on ...
on
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
*
Valaida Snow
Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Tr ...
(1939)
*
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...
''That Bad Eartha'' (1953)
*
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
''
Black Coffee'' (1953)
*
Kitty Kallen
Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, to include the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene and the early ...
''Little Things Mean A Lot'' (1954)
*
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
''
Songs in a Mellow Mood'' (1954)
*
Dorothy Dandridge
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...
– CBS's “Ford Star Jubilee's tribute to Cole Porter" (1956)
*
Pat Suzuki
Pat Suzuki (born Chiyoko Suzuki; September 22, 1930) is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical ''Flower Drum Song'', and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being ...
on her album ''Miss Pony Tail'' (1957).
*
Anita O'Day
Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...
''Cool Heat'' (1959)
*
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
''
Have Trumpet, Will Excite!
''Have Trumpet, Will Excite!'' is a 1959 studio album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Reception
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' rates the album three stars and states that "there's a case for saying that this is one of the best of all Gillespie's ...
'' (1959)
*
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...
''Della Della Cha Cha Cha'' (1960)
*
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
''
Let's Make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
'' (1960). During her performance she wears a purple sweater over a black
bodystocking. Near the end of the song, she takes off her sweater, revealing her bodystocking and a black bikini over it.
*
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
''
Night Train'' (1962)
*
Julie London
Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...
''
All Through the Night: Julie London Sings the Choicest of Cole Porter'' (1965)
*
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...
''
Herb Alpert's Ninth
''Herb Alpert's Ninth'' is a 1967 album by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent 18 weeks in the Top 40. Its cover, in addition to containing some still photos from Brass concerts, includes a pop- ...
'' (1967)
*
Violetta Villas
Czesława Gospodarek (née Cieślak; 10 June 1938 – 5 December 2011), known by her stage name Violetta Villas, was a Polish and international cabaret star, singer, actress, composer and songwriter. Her voice was characterized as coloratura so ...
''Violetta Villas sings'' (1970)
*
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
''
Ella Loves Cole
''Ella Loves Cole'' is a 1972 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, arranged by Nelson Riddle, of songs written by Cole Porter.
This was Fitzgerald's first album of songs dedicated to a single composer since 1964's ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the John ...
'' (1972)
*
Anna Nicole Smith''My Heart Belongs To Daddy'' (1997)
*
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Dee Dee Bridgewater (née Denise Garrett, May 27, 1950) is an American jazz singer and actress. She is a three-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, as well as a Tony Award-winning stage actress. For 23 years, she was the host of National ...
''
Dear Ella'' (1997)
*
Paul Motian
Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties.
He first came to prominence in the l ...
''On Broadway Vol.1'' (2003)
*
Sophie Milman
Sophie Milman (born 1983) is a Russian-born Canadian jazz vocalist.
After emigrating from Russia in the early 1990s, Milman, who is Jewish, spent most of her childhood years in Israel where she listened extensively to jazz. Her family later emigr ...
''Sophie Milman'' (2004)
*
Stacey Kent
Stacey Kent (born March 27, 1965) is an American jazz singer from South Orange, New Jersey.
Kent was nominated for a Grammy Award and was awarded the Chevalier de l' Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Mini ...
and Jim Tomlinson''
The Lyric'' (2005)
*Portland, Oregon-based jazz singer
Barbara Lusch performed the song on her 2006 release ''
Surprisingly Good for You''
*
Jinkx Monsoon
Jerick Roman Lamar Hoffer (born September 18, 1987), better known by the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag performer, actor, comedian and singer best known for winning the fifth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the seventh seas ...
''The Inevitable Album'' (2014)
*
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
recorded a cover of the song to be used in an interlude for her
Sweetener World Tour
The Sweetener World Tour was the fourth concert tour and third arena tour by American singer, songwriter and actress Ariana Grande in support of her fourth and fifth studio albums, ''Sweetener'' (2018) and '' Thank U, Next'' (2019). Led by Live N ...
Notes
{{authority control
Songs written by Cole Porter
1938 songs
1939 singles
Marilyn Monroe songs
Songs from Cole Porter musicals